Recently, students in first grade kicked-off the annual Mars Home expedition, a classroom experience that includes studying past and present civilizations and preparing for life on the red planet.
As part of their Primary Years Programme unit, "Where We Are In Place and Time." The first-graders planned for a future civilization on Mars, using their research skills to decide what the needs and wants were for life based on the significant difference between planet Earth and the environment on Mars.
Each classroom in first-grade worked with classmates to build their own Mars Home using recycled products. The students also held a Zoom call with a NASA Mars Rover engineer, who discussed his expertise and answered students' inquiries about his career and Mars.
"It was so much fun learning about space and building a Mars home," said Mary-Claire Everett '32. "Our Mars Home has everything you would need to live on Mars like food, water, a bed, a garden and even a TV!"
This unit of inquiry supports teamwork, redesign, and the persistence to keep trying when one idea does not work.